Municipal Elections

As partisan warfare entrenches U.S. Congress in perpetual gridlock, America’s static confidence level in the federal government remains unimpressive.

Meanwhile in municipal America, approval of local government officials hovers between 60 and 70% across Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

We are proud to work with a rotating roster of candidates running to represent their friends and neighbors on local elected bodies.

In 2021, we partnered with Lincoln candidates Sändra Washington (Lincoln City Council — at large) and John Olsson (Lincoln Airport Authority). These candidates represented contrasting life experiences, political affiliations and professional resumes; however, they shared two important commonalities:

Audience: registered voters of Lincoln
Goal: to win on Election Day

Our mission: Optimize local civic campaigns for reach and recognition within their communities.

(Spoiler alert!) Our team was honored to play a key role in Election Day victories for both John Olsson and Sändra Washington.

We recognize that community-level campaigns aren’t million-dollar operations, so stewardship of grassroots donations is paramount. With proper strategic foresight, it’s possible to produce memorable branding, provide value to voters and even deploy digital fundraising efforts on a budget of any size.

Communicating with the Voter

Our market research here in Lincoln, Nebraska, tells a story of voters who care about the community.

The fastest way to win votes is to earn trust.

As an appointed incumbent, Sändra Washington had a head start in the arena of public opinion. While she had never been elected (nor run for this office!), her record spoke for itself. The monthly content strategy we delivered leaned into Sändra’s experience as a public servant and reputation for bringing underserved members of the community to the table. We shared these messages across social media and through email outreach to boost awareness, educate voters and raise money. We complemented Sändra’s organic digital outreach with a series of Facebook ad campaigns designed to boost voter recognition and turnout.

Meanwhile, John Olsson’s experience as a licensed pilot, successful businessman, life-long Lincolnite and active community member served his campaign strategy well. Rather than using every social media post as an opportunity to brag about John’s credentials, we leveraged his long list of supporters from across the community to broadcast his qualifications for Lincoln Airport Authority in the form of detailed endorsements.

In both cases, our clean campaign branding and strategic messaging cut through the noise of a crowded election cycle.

Importantly, we anchor all of our digital-first campaigns with accessible, mobile-responsive websites. Each website houses a variety of information and resources depending on the candidate for which it’s designed.

For both Sändra and John, we produced brand-aligned sites detailing the candidates’ biographies, endorsements and plans for Lincoln. Both websites also included interactive forms allowing visitors to donate, volunteer, request a yard sign, subscribe to email updates and get in touch with the campaign.

Results

To make a long story short: Sändra and John won.

To make a short story long: Sändra and John didn’t just win. They both received more votes than every other candidate running in each of these two races.

Cheers to bipartisan success stories. We continue to look forward to municipal elections in our hometown and beyond.